GUAM
Pacific Daily News
Haidee V Eugenio , heugenio@guampdn.com July 8, 2017
The world’s largest group of clergy sex abuse survivors said Thursday the only way the Archdiocese of Agana can now make amends is to stop fighting accusers in the civil courts.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, SNAP, said making amends now also means cooperating completely with civil authorities, and turning over and making public all evidence of child sex abuse and cover-up in the church’s secret personnel files.
Joelle Casteix, volunteer western regional leader for SNAP, was responding to Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes’ declaration of the Year of Reparationfor the Catholic Church on Guam.
“The laity of the Archdiocese of Agana has already showed tremendous solidarity with victims by standing with them, believing them, praying for them, protesting outside of the cathedral, and demanding transparency and accountability from Archdiocesan leadership and the Vatican,” Casteix said in a statement.
Casteix said Byrnes must stop putting the burden of amends on the laity because that burden must sit squarely on the shoulders of church officials and their attorneys.
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